Study Bytes : Mechanical Exam Preparation Part 1

A few weeks ago, while reading the blog, Study Hacks by Cal Newport; one article entitled Mechanical Exam Preparation caught my attention. Upon reading the article, I felt that my exam preparation is so flawed and filled with loop holes. Therefore, I think it is only right that I share with you guys my personal view and rendition of the “Mechanical Exam Preparation”.

Traditional

Looking back at my 5 years of study in Penang Free School, I have experimented my way through each and every examination but the techniques that I employed were al based on this flawed concept; time spent = score better in exam. Many students including myself were used to schedule long hour of revision every day. The only alterations in these five years were the number of hours and amount of subjects to study per day. When the plan has been laid out, it’s time to start reading and re-reading the particular chapter designated for that day. Sometimes, I might throw in some exercises here and there and often I will lose sense of time. To tell you the truth, the planning only come when the exam is around the corner and to those who know me; now you know why there are so many papers with me when the examination is getting closer. 

Why this doesn’t work ? 

The reason is pretty simple, lack of focus. When you study continuously for more than 1 hour, you tend to lose focus. The question is why so many people schedule such a long hour of study. There are two reasons:

1. The examination is around the corner and they haven’t covered the entire syllabus yet. 
2. Those who have started early but ‘feel’ that devoting long hour is a must to achieve success

Consequently, the former kind of students will burn out during examination and the result may not be so good either. In my opinion, the second group of student has landed in a bigger trouble than their counterparts. Why am I saying this? This is because they will develop the illusion that their success derives from the long hour of study. Once this happen, it is actually very difficult to shift their study habit. They will stick to their way of study and develop a comfort zone around it. If the habit were to be carried on, they will face a big problem in university because they will be so occupied with assignments and presentations. The result is; they will be stressed out and depressed.  

Before I reveal the mechanism behind the Mechanical Exam Preparation, I will really like to hear your personal strategy to ace school examinations.